No elephants needed, women will pull 'Devi's chariot'; money saved on temple festival used to build houses for needy

KOCHI: 'Bhadrakali Devi' will witness the Thiruvuthsavam of the Sree Narayana Vallabha Temple in Poothotta, Ernakulam, from a chariot. The women of the village will roll the chariot and take the Goddess forward! The temple authorities have made the chariot without the elephant for the procession, keeping in mind the words of Sree Narayana Guru that there is no need for elephants and firecrackers. The Devi Ratham will be offered on the morning of the 26th. The chariot will be rolled for the festival the next day and the Aarattu ceremony on the night of the 28th. Training to pull the chariot is going on smoothly.

The festival at the Sree Narayana Vallabha Temple under the branch number 1103 of SNDP Yogam used to be held with three elephants. The idea of ​​a chariot festival was born after elephants had caused havoc at many places.

The chariot is made by replicating the engineering model of the Kalpathi Ratham and is completely carved in the Kerala style. The sculptor is Unnikrishnan, brother of the famous artist Da Vinci Suresh. The luxurious expenses of the festival were avoided and the money was used to build houses for the needy.

13 feet high

A sum of Rs 60 lakh was set aside for the three chariots. The chariot made of teak is 13 feet high. The chariot of the goddess was completed in six months by sculptor Unnikrishnan and his disciples. The chariots were built in several parts at the workshop in Kodungallur and then brought to Poothotta and assembled. The carvings took a month to complete.

Sree Narayana Vallabha Temple

The temple where Guru Devan performed the third consecration. After the consecration on February 20, 1893, the Guru said that schools should be built here. More than a dozen schools, including Law College, B.Ed College, self-financing colleges, State - CBSE schools, are now located around the temple. These are under the Poothotta branch.

The proposal that women should pull the chariot was made because it is a chariot for the Goddess. Everyone supported it. The construction of the third chariot will be completed as soon as possible.

A.D. Unnikrishnan

President

Poothotta branch